Leaf-footed

June 03, 2023

I have not been feeling well lately and have been neglecting to water my container garden.  Yesterday I decided to push through and get water on my plants.  I have gotten most of what I originally intended in the ground (or pots).  This includes Poblano (Capsicum annuum var.) and Jalapeno (Capsicum annuum var.) peppers, Supersweet 100 (Solanum lycopersicum) and Arkansas traveler (Lycopersicon lycopersicum ) tomatoes, and Yukon gold potatoes (Solanum tuberosum var.).  While I was planting the potatoes last week, I noticed one of the russets (Solanum tuberosum var.) in the pantry had gone to seed.  I cut the sprouted portion off the potato and planted it in a spot where the Yukon I had planted the week before did not sprout.  As I was dutifully making my rounds watering among the various plants, I noticed a large beetle perched on the fence by the bird feeders.  It was a leaf-footed bug.

When I looked online, I found the Leaf-footed bug (Acanthocephala femorata) is found in the continental US and Mexico and is considered a pest by orchards and gardeners.  The genus name Acanthocephala means “spiny head” and comes from the pointed tylus at the tip of the head.  The lower rear legs are wider than the upper legs, with serrations and are especially pronounced in the male.  The bug has long, slim, curving antennae with distinctive orange tips.  The body is reddish brown to nearly black.  Leaf-footed bugs are one of the common pests found throughout the southern US.  Although the infestations are rarely serious, they feed on a variety of crops, causing damage to fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and ornamentals.  They can be a major pest in citrus groves and cause significant fruit damage and loss.  Leaf-footed bugs have many predators and biological control is generally enough to keep their populations in control.  Many leaf-footed bugs do not make it past the larval stage, as parasitic flies often lay their eggs within the developing larvae, paralyzing them.

Leaf-footed bugs are most active during the warmer months.  In home gardens the bugs puncture ripening fruit, which causes secondary infections and rot.  Their piercing-sucking mouthparts allow them to suck nutrients from the stems, leaves, and fruits as they move from plant to plant.  Since the adults are winged, they can be very difficult to control.  The more I read on the leaf-footed bug the more I began to worry about a possible infestation.  Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies are effective in controlling leaf-footed bugs.  One important principle of IPM is knowing your “action threshold,” and deciding when to intervene.  Minor damage may not warrant any action except continued observation.  Prevention can be used by applying row covers to keep flying adults from entering and laying eggs.  Keeping plants healthy, well-watered, and appropriately spaced also serve as control.  If damage reaches an unacceptable level, start handpicking the bugs off the plants.  Destroying the eggs, nymphs, and adults by hand is a very effective method of leaf-footed bug control.  The University of Florida recommends to only use insecticides if you are unable to control the leaf-footed bugs with other methods, and even then, to spot treat the infestation.  Treating large areas that are not infested will kill beneficial insects, including bees.

Thoughts:  The leaf-footed bug I encountered on my patio posed no threat to me and only a minimal threat to my tomatoes.  I left it alone to go about its business.  I may have felt different if I had found it attacking one of my early developing tomato fruits.  I am committed to using pesticides only as a last resort.  They often kill the good insects along with the invaders and left over residue can be ingested by humans.  That means I may have a few marked and pitted vegetables, but the biological controls in my garden ecosystem will be much healthier.  Using more is never a good thing for your vegetables or the environment.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.